It’s amazing the difference a few words of encouragement at halftime can make — no matter how intense they might be.

CSU trailed Cal State-Bakersfield 35-34 at the break, and the Rams headed into the locker room with a discouraged look on their faces. A plethora of missed layups combined with a handful of made circus shots by the Roadrunners created an irritating first 20 minutes of play for Colorado State University.

With 4:00 showing on the clock before the second half resumed, out came Bakersfield to warmup, but no CSU. 3:00, no Rams. 2:00, no Rams. Finally, with 1:30 before the return of play, CSU reentered the court at Moby Arena to practice a few layups.

Unorthodox as the approach might sound, it worked, and the Rams were able to withstand Bakersfield on Wednesday night, 78-58.

“Coach just wanted us to come out and play our game,” senior forward Greg Smith said. “He expects us to come out and play with a sense of urgency and more consistency and we didn’t do that. That was the basis of what he was talking about (at halftime).”

CSU (8-2) might have been able to pull out a win for its 19th consecutive home victory, but nothing for the Rams came easily or looked pretty.

Aforementioned missed layups, sloppy at the free-throw line and shooting below average from 3-point range, making 5 of 16. Not to mention Bakersfield kept closer than any CSU opponent all season other than Northern Colorado in rebounding margin, as the Rams only won that battle by 11.

But not everything going against the Rams was a result of poor play. Bakersfield (4-8) received a huge lift, especially in the first half, from Javante Maynor and Stephon Carter. The guard duo led the Roadrunners with 16 and 17, respectively; Maynor hit four 3-pointers before halftime. Forward Tyrone White added 18.

“When we play the right way, we have a second half like we had, when we don’t, we run the risk of losing to an extremely well-coached team,” CSU men’s basketball coach Larry Eustachy said. “You saw what I saw in the first half. (Bakersfield) is good. They’re really good and they should have beaten South Dakota State.

(Page 2 of 2)

“They’re limited, number wise, but they’re a tough match up for a lot of people.”

Eventually, the talent and coaching of CSU outweighed Bakersfield’s ability to pull an upset. The will of senior shooting guard Wes Eikmeier didn’t hurt, either.

Eikmeier, who had been dealing with a bit of a scoring slump, appeared to break out of it Wednesday, leading the Rams with a team-high 17 points to go with 5 assists and 3 rebounds. It was his fourth career game with 17 or more points and at least 5 assists.

He was joined by Greg Smith (14), Colton Iverson (12), Dorian Green (11) and Pierce Hornung (10) as Rams who scored double figures.

“A little bit,” Eikmeier said about rediscovering his offensive rhythm. “I think our whole team is gelling together better … Really, I think our whole team is just starting to come together.”

Things might not have gone according to script Wednesday night, but it wasn’t without value. Playing back-to-back games on short rest will pay off, Eikmeier said, especially going into a tournament setting Saturday and Sunday at the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.

CSU will play Portland on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and, depending on the outcome, either Bradley or Virginia Tech.